The Deputy Chairman, Finance Committee of the Presidential Campaign Organization, Dr. Ngozi Olejeme has urged Nigerians to vote for Peoples Democratic Party Presidential candidate, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, saying a vote for PDP in the February 14, 2015 presidential election is a vote for economic growth, development and unity.Olejeme made this call Tuesday when she received prominent political leaders from Delta State in Abuja.“Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is a good listener and knows his task of governing the country. He is the only presidential candidate that can lead Nigeria to greater heights. He will make Nigeria a better place and a global economic power “she said.Olejeme, who is also chairman of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), assured Nigerians that President Goodluck Jonathan will stick to the policy of transparency and accountability.Hear her “President Goodluck Jonathan will accelerate economic transformation in his second term through investment in critical infrastructure projects so as to drive economic growth. He will pay special attention to education and health. He will focus on building strong economy. He will take communication, transport, electric power provision, security and potable water supply to the highest level. He will create jobs. He will ensure that resources are equitably distributed and an enabling and conducive business environment provided. He will continue to work on good governance, which is an essential part of economic growth and development. He will continue to champion economic diplomacy, promote the growth of local businesses’.She urged Nigerians, particularly public servants, civil society, youth, women’s groups and traditional leaders to support the PDP presidential candidate. “Dr. Goodluck Jonathan deserves our support in order to complete what he has started” she added.

Turning the tide against Boko Haram will require a “huge” international effort, a top US military commander warned on Tuesday, taking a swipe at Nigeria’s response to the emboldened extremists.

Relations between the Nigerian and US militaries have been strained with Nigeria cancelling training by US advisers of a unit that was supposed to fight the militants, who have captured towns and villages in the country’s northeast and vowed to create a hardline Islamic state.

The conflict has left more than 13,000 people dead and one million homeless.

General David Rodriguez, head of US Africa Command, said the Islamists’ gains on the battlefield are cause for concern and “the number of people displaced is just staggering.”

“I think it’s going to take a huge international and multinational effort there to change a trajectory that continues to go in the wrong direction,” Rodriguez said at an event organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

“The Nigerian leadership and Nigerian military are going to have to really improve their capacities to be able to handle that.”

Rodriguez said the Nigerian military’s response “was not working very effectively and actually in some places made it worse.”

He added: “I hope that they let us help more and more.”

Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States, Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, complained in November that his country is “not satisfied” with US support for the struggle against Boko Haram and that Washington has blocked the sale of some military hardware over human rights concerns.

In a visit Sunday to Lagos, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington was “prepared to do more” to help Nigeria counter Boko Haram.

Nigeria has the largest army in west Africa but has come under criticism at home and abroad for failing to stop the advance of Boko Haram.

The United States was working with Nigeria to build a comprehensive strategy “across the board, not just military,” that encompassededucation, economic development and health care to address the needs of the population in the north, the four-star general said.

Another “big focus” was to bolster the country’s intelligence gathering, added Rodriguez.

Winter storm Juno – or 'Snowmageddon' – saw six US states declare a
state of emergency, with Boston and New York effectively closing down,
with public transport cancelled and a driving ban in place on 27
January. Nearly 7,000 flights in and out of the area were also
cancelled.

Despite the weather not ending up as severe as predicted in New York
City, the events industry was affected. Agency Grass Roots was forced to
call off a three-day annual global sales conference where 250 delegates
had been expected to fly in from international locations.

"Luckily we’re used to this sort of thing happening here so we had
contingency plans in place and we’re in the process of negotiating the
rebook of the event," said Charlotte Leo, operations director of event
services at Grass Roots.

"We also had several smaller programs in Boston that were cancelled
as well. But hopefully things will get back to normal tomorrow, we
haven’t cancelled the events we have on then."

The New York convention bureau NYC & Company confirmed that no major conventions were scheduled to take place in the city yesterday or today (28 January). It advised that anyone travelling to, or hosting events in New York should keep updated on the situation on the City of New York official website here.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With two
of former Vanderbilt football players facing decades in prison after
being convicted of raping an unconscious student in a dorm room,
attention now turns to two of their teammates who have yet to go to
trial.

It took a jury three hours Tuesday to reach a verdict
convicting Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey of multiple charges of
aggravated rape and sexual battery. The jury saw powerful video evidence
and photographs of the 21-year-old student being sexually assaulted on a
dorm room floor.

Prosecutors say Brandon Banks and Jaborian
“Tip” McKenzie also were in that dorm room in the early morning hours of
Jan. 23, 2013. A prosecutor says he will make a decision soon about
their trial. McKenzie testified at the trial that he didn’t touch the
woman, but did take photos.

The jury deliberated for three hours
before announcing that Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey were guilty,
rejecting claims that they were too drunk to know what they were doing
and that a college culture of binge drinking and promiscuous sex should
be blamed for the attack. Batey was stoic, staring ahead and Vandenburg
shook his head “no,” appearing stunned. His father had an outburst and
abruptly left the courtroom.

The victim, who was a 21-year-old
neuroscience and economics major at the time of the 2013 attack, cried
as each guilty verdict was announced.

Both men were convicted of
four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape
and two counts of aggravated sexual battery. They face decades in prison
when they are sentenced March 6.

The jury heard two weeks of
dramatic testimony from a parade of witnesses, including police, former
and current Vanderbilt students and the woman, who said she didn’t
remember what happened that night, only that she woke up in a strange
dorm room. They also saw cellphone images from the night of the attack
that Vandenburg sent to his friends as it was happening.

Despite
the photos and video, and witnesses seeing the woman unconscious and at
least partially naked in a dorm hallway, no one reported it.

(Reuters) -
Israeli airforce jets struck Syrian army artillery positions near the
Israel-occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday, the military said, in
retaliation for rockets launched in the area the previous day.

Tensions have escalated in the
border region in the 10 days since an Israeli air strike on territory
under the control of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad killed an Iranian
general and several Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas.

On Tuesday, at least two rockets from Syria hit the Golan Heights and Israel responded with artillery fire, the army said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket fire and no casualties were reported.

"We
will not tolerate any firing towards Israeli territory or violation of
our sovereignty and we will respond forcefully and with determination,"
Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon said in a statement.

The
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the strikes
on Wednesday targeted "Brigade 90" of the Syrian army and other
positions held by the military in Quneitra province, which borders
Lebanon and Jordan as well as Israel.

In
the Israeli air strike on a Hezbollah convoy near Golan on Jan. 18,
Iranian Revolutionary Guard general, Mohammed Allahdadi, was killed
along with a Hezbollah commander and the son of the group's late
military leader, Imad Moughniyeh.

Both
Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran and fought a 34-day war with Israel
in 2006, and the Revolutionary Guards vowed to avenge the deaths.

Since that air strike, troops and civilians in
northern Israel and the Golan Heights have been on heightened alert and
Israel has deployed Iron Dome rocket interceptors near the Syrian
border.

Israel captured the Golan
from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. The area has been hit by mortar
shells and rockets numerous times in four years of civil war in Syria.

In
Washington, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the United
States called "upon all parties to avoid any action that would
jeopardize the long-held ceasefire between Israel and Syria".

"We
support Israel's legitimate right to self defence and have been clear
about our concerns over the regional instability caused by the crisis in
Syria," Psaki said.

The past week has been a wakeup call to the Japan of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a rough introduction to the world of unintended consequences. Days after showing two kidnapped Japanese nationals in a ransom video, ISIS announced that it had executed one, Haruna Yukawa, and threatened to behead another, Kenji Goto, if its demands are not met.

The crisis is a serious complication for Abe, who is pushing his country to become more involved in world affairs. It highlights how unprepared the third largest economy in the world is for political and military crises on the other side of the world. Will the hostage situation change Japanese plans to become a global player?

After World War II, Japan kept a low profile internationally, concentrating on rebuilding the country and raising the standard of living. Japan's constitution forbade it from using military force abroad. It largely followed the lead of the United States on various global issues, while not becoming directly embroiled in them.

The 1991 Persian Gulf War was a watershed moment for the country. Japan contributed billions to the war effort without deploying troops. Stung by international criticism of "checkbook diplomacy," Japan began sending military personnel on peacekeeping and nation-building missions in places such as Cambodia, Sudan, the Golan Heights, and Haiti.

Prime Minister Abe has sought to accelerate the process. Seeking to contribute to the anti-ISIS coalition, Japan pledged $200 million in aid to refugees and those affected by the war against the Islamist group.

In a clear signal it did not appreciate the Japanese government's meddling, ISIS released a video of captives Yukawa and Goto in orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by executed westerners. ISIS demanded $200 million in ransom or the men would be beheaded.

After the reported execution of Yukawa, ISIS replaced the ransom demand with a proposed deal that would see the remaining hostage Goto freed in exchange for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, a female member of Al Qaeda imprisoned in Jordan.

The likelihood of Japan rescuing the remaining hostage is zero. Japan has its own elite Special Forces Group, but it has little to no operational experience. The Japanese government is unfamiliar with the region in general and has no useful assets in place. It has no strong ties to local countries that could host a rescue mission.

The Abe administration has been criticized for its handling of the crisis, particularly for consulting with traditional allies the United States and the United Kingdom instead of regional powers. Although Japan insisted it wanted to negotiate, neither the U.S. nor the U.K. has the direct links necessary to open negotiations with ISIS. In fact, both are combatants in the undeclared war against the self-declared caliphate.

This is not the first time Japan's limited reach has been painfully on display. In January 2013, 10 Japanese hostages were killed after Islamist guerrillas took over an oil refinery in Algeria.

The question is how will Japan respond to these crises in the long term. The easy thing to do is to recoil from the Middle East and North Africa and go back to minding its own fences.

Yet it's clear that Japan's global presence cannot remain limited indefinitely. Japan's prosperity at home is linked to the global economic system, which is in turn affected by events in the Middle East and elsewhere. Furthermore, the world can benefit immensely from Japan's generosity: Japan contributed nearly $5 billion to humanitarian projects in Afghanistan, with another $3 billion by 2017.

The lesson is clear: The old system of following the United States without carrying risk is not going to work anymore. If Japan is to become a global player, it will have to expand its diplomatic relations abroad, identifying key regional players such as Jordan and Turkey in places it wants to have an increased role. It will have to maintain relations with countries independent of its alliance with the United States. And, it will have to be able to realistically assess threats and responses to Japan, mitigating second order effects such as the kidnapping of Yukawa and Goto.

That's not all. If Japan is to continue to push being a global player, it will have to match soft power developments with hard. This crisis won't be the last time Japanese citizens will be threatened abroad, and diplomacy and regional ties can't be counted on to save them. A more visible Japan will have to develop the ability to project power. It will have to be able to project military force abroad to protect and save its citizens.

Japan, which already under-engages the world for a country of its economic stature, is only beginning to match its involvement with its interests. The kidnapping of Goto and Yukawa has been a blunt warning to Tokyo of the consequences involved.

Japanese investments in Japanese soft and hard power seem inevitable. Unless it is willing to retreat from the global stage Japan has little choice but to grimly accept that such events will happen yet again and prepare for the future.

Hyderabad:
Retail giant Walmart will work with Andhra Pradesh
government in five areas, including branding and marketing of the
state's products, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said in Hyderabad
today.

"Walmart is a global retail giant. An understanding has
been reached on working together in five areas. Helping with technology
under CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), doing branding for 'Made in
Andhra' products through retail stores and providing international
market for more than 20 horticulture products like cashew, peanuts,
rice, coconut...," he told reporters.

Mr
Naidu was briefing reporters on his recent visit to the World Economic
Forum meeting in Davos, where he met honchos of Walmart and other top
private companies.

"They (Walmart) source products within the
state. If need be, they would source the products from here (AP) and
sell where they have marketing networks. They have accepted this
(request). They will brand about 100 items made by self-help groups and
promote them. They have also come forward to provide technical expertise
to farmers," he said.

On his meeting with software major Wipro
Chairman Azim Premji and other officials of the company, Mr Naidu said
he discussed an idea of AP government and Wipro setting up a Joint
Venture to work in the area of e-governance. The proposed JV would also
offer consultancy services to other governments in the country.

"Modalities are being worked out," he said.

Wipro has assured it will expand its facility for Santoor brand of soaps at Hindupur in Anantapur district, he said.

On
his meeting with Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka and other top officials, Mr
Naidu said he has requested them to set up a centre either at
Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada or Tirupati.

The
letter was sent by post by unidentified elements claiming to belong to
an outfit called "The Base Moment," and said to be based at "3/10,
Ukkadam, Kovai, Tamil Nadu, India."

Below the map is a picture
of Osama Bin Laden and the words "By Al Qaeda," and some Arabic words
appearing like a signature, the police official said.

"It can be a
fictitious outfit or someone may be trying to play mischief or it may
have some other motive...we do not know...only after the probe's
completion we will be able to comment," the official said, declining to
elaborate.

JAIPUR- The Rajasthan government is worried about a sudden rise
in cases of swine flu in the state. In the last one month, the disease
has claimed 27 lives; over a 100 people in the state are still battling
it.

Two patients afflicted by the H1N1 virus died at Jaipur's
Sawai Man Singh Hospital on Tuesday evening. One of them, 42-year-old
Panna Lal, had travelled to Jaipur from Nagaur to seek treatment. The
other victim was Haseena Bano, a 72-year-old resident of Jaipur.

The
cases of swine flu are not concentrated in one specific area; of the 32
districts in the state, 25 have reported such cases, said doctors.

But the government has also asked central government agencies to
investigate the swine flu samples to see if the virus has mutated in
anyway

Admitting that the state government was "worried," state
Health Minister Rajendra Rathore said, "We are worried. A team from
Delhi has come here and taken samples; we are having this investigated".

But doctors say there is no cause for alarm as they feel most patients are responding to the Tamiflu medication

"Even
if there is a mutation, it is very minor because patients are
responding to the same medication," said Dr K C Meena, additional
director of rural health.

Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of a common cold, and they are often ignored by patients, he added

With many people catching a cold due to the severe winter, patients
often report cases of swine flu when it is too late and this, say
doctors, could be a reason for the alarming rise in deaths.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Amid controversy, the Saudi Arabian embassy in the US denied media
reports that the country's state television had blurred out America's
First Lady Michelle Obama as her husband US president Barack Obama met
new Saudi King Salman.

The Saudi embassy said in a tweet, "Report
by Bloomberg View's Josh Rogin that Saudi TV "blurred" image of First
Lady Michelle Obama is FALSE.